Joy to the World
"Long time no see", my readers. I took a long vacation out of my computer. I spent this summer in DisneyWorld, which occupies the large plain of Orlando. Taking the chance of Hong Kong Disneyland openning yesterday, I would like to share my experience about the world of a Disney theme park.
My friends and I took car service from Orlando airport to the DisneyWorld resort. This was a long trip through long highways because the DisneyWorld was surrounded by large forrests. We were likely brought into another world. The DisneyWorld was really an isolated kingdom out of reality. Our dream just began.
After check-in, we tried to find our room by ourselves but lost our way. We asked engineer staff who had walked by the resort to indicate our destination. They did not only patiently show our road, but also took us to the destination by their club car from another resort (we were in the wrong resort). Being engineers, they were not responsible for serving us but they did in very friendly manner.
At the first night, we had our dinner in a French restaurant of DisneyWorld Epcot. Our waitress was a typical French blonde. She was literally a good waitress full of passion. She did not only explain the food names on the menu one by one (English is not everything), but also introduced various ways of French dining. I was impressed that she showed me the way of toilet by curving her body like a crescent.
Even security Guards were no exception. DisneyWorld's entrance was as strongly secure as government buildings. All entrants and their bags were thoroughly checked before entering the park. The security guards were muscular but smiled all the time. When a guest queuing in front of me was sleepy during bag checking, the security guard said a joke to wake him up but failed. Then the security guard said another joke about him to make us laugh. The joke was limited, humorous and not harmful.
It is really that Joy to the world, Disney is come. Let earth receive our park; Let every heart prepare its room. And heaven and nature sing...
The joy, which is likely created by lovely cartoons, is actually backed by the Walt Disney Company's sophisticated business system and management team. The management strategy, which will not be covered here, has been hotly discussed in the market. It is learnt from my experience that the strategy of Disney is a complete package. Every staff, every food, every procedure and every detail inside the theme park are strictly under control to comply with the Disney's strategy.
Hong Kong Disneyland is another stage of showing off the robustness of the commercial machine. In the project of the Disneyland, which 43 percent share is owned by Disney, Disney has just invested US$314 million while the Hong Kong government has done US$2.9 billion, around 9.67 times of Disney investment. The government still refused that it was any favor to Disneyland. I agree with the government that the strength of Disney is worth that price. The strength of Disney has magnified the equity of shareholder by 4.4 times (book value x 43 percent / original investment). This calculation has not counted the monopoly interest of selling souvenir and food inside the theme park. The agreement between Disney and the Hong Kong government was signed in the recession while the openning of the Disneyland was in booming time. What a good timing.
Despite controversies over administration, employment, environment and culture, Disney has preserved its reputation. The local mass media blamed the government for problems of employment and environment while blamed the visitors for those of administration and culture. The top management of Disney is obviously strong at Chinese Tai-Chi, i.e. passing loads away.
In addition, sale skill of Disney is at the top thumb. The size of Hong Kong Disneyland is 126 hectares, while that of Orlando DisneyWorld is 12,228 hctares. Their ticket fees are similar, around from US$28 to US$54. The selling point of Hong Kong Disneyland is the feature of its smallest size. The visitors spend the similar amount to visit a park 99 percent smaller. They will be in a crowded can with a few of rides. This is the magic of Disney.
That is why the stock price of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) jumped from $15 in 2003 to $25.12 yesterday.
My friends and I took car service from Orlando airport to the DisneyWorld resort. This was a long trip through long highways because the DisneyWorld was surrounded by large forrests. We were likely brought into another world. The DisneyWorld was really an isolated kingdom out of reality. Our dream just began.
After check-in, we tried to find our room by ourselves but lost our way. We asked engineer staff who had walked by the resort to indicate our destination. They did not only patiently show our road, but also took us to the destination by their club car from another resort (we were in the wrong resort). Being engineers, they were not responsible for serving us but they did in very friendly manner.
At the first night, we had our dinner in a French restaurant of DisneyWorld Epcot. Our waitress was a typical French blonde. She was literally a good waitress full of passion. She did not only explain the food names on the menu one by one (English is not everything), but also introduced various ways of French dining. I was impressed that she showed me the way of toilet by curving her body like a crescent.
Even security Guards were no exception. DisneyWorld's entrance was as strongly secure as government buildings. All entrants and their bags were thoroughly checked before entering the park. The security guards were muscular but smiled all the time. When a guest queuing in front of me was sleepy during bag checking, the security guard said a joke to wake him up but failed. Then the security guard said another joke about him to make us laugh. The joke was limited, humorous and not harmful.
It is really that Joy to the world, Disney is come. Let earth receive our park; Let every heart prepare its room. And heaven and nature sing...
The joy, which is likely created by lovely cartoons, is actually backed by the Walt Disney Company's sophisticated business system and management team. The management strategy, which will not be covered here, has been hotly discussed in the market. It is learnt from my experience that the strategy of Disney is a complete package. Every staff, every food, every procedure and every detail inside the theme park are strictly under control to comply with the Disney's strategy.
Hong Kong Disneyland is another stage of showing off the robustness of the commercial machine. In the project of the Disneyland, which 43 percent share is owned by Disney, Disney has just invested US$314 million while the Hong Kong government has done US$2.9 billion, around 9.67 times of Disney investment. The government still refused that it was any favor to Disneyland. I agree with the government that the strength of Disney is worth that price. The strength of Disney has magnified the equity of shareholder by 4.4 times (book value x 43 percent / original investment). This calculation has not counted the monopoly interest of selling souvenir and food inside the theme park. The agreement between Disney and the Hong Kong government was signed in the recession while the openning of the Disneyland was in booming time. What a good timing.
Despite controversies over administration, employment, environment and culture, Disney has preserved its reputation. The local mass media blamed the government for problems of employment and environment while blamed the visitors for those of administration and culture. The top management of Disney is obviously strong at Chinese Tai-Chi, i.e. passing loads away.
In addition, sale skill of Disney is at the top thumb. The size of Hong Kong Disneyland is 126 hectares, while that of Orlando DisneyWorld is 12,228 hctares. Their ticket fees are similar, around from US$28 to US$54. The selling point of Hong Kong Disneyland is the feature of its smallest size. The visitors spend the similar amount to visit a park 99 percent smaller. They will be in a crowded can with a few of rides. This is the magic of Disney.
That is why the stock price of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) jumped from $15 in 2003 to $25.12 yesterday.
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